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| MANKIND at playwrights horizons | |
| Posted by: jd738 11:35 am EST 01/07/18 | |
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| Longtime lurker, first time poster here. Due mainly to the extreme opinions I'd read on this board, I went to yesterday's matinee of MANKIND by Robert O'Hara. This show is best enjoyed without knowing too much going in. This is a show that is very worth seeing. It is by no means perfect, but I found its shortcomings worthy of its extraordinary ambitions. What most impressed me was the way O'Hara managed to write a successful Brechtian play for our time. Its absurdities combine brilliantly with its engagement with the audience to create several true moments of epic theater. It is perhaps not for the faint of heart or easily offended (it reminded me in many ways Threepenny Opera, though it is not as narratively sound) - but it is an utterly worthwhile few hours in the theater. Must also say bravo to Playwrights Horizons who seem to be growing ever braver in their programming choices. Very excited for the rest of their season. |
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| Having seen this yesterday... | |
| Posted by: AC126748 01:03 pm EST 01/07/18 | |
| In reply to: MANKIND at playwrights horizons - jd738 11:35 am EST 01/07/18 | |
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| I can't believe a play this banal and derivative has provoked such strong opinions, negative or positive, in anyone. It's too dull to be offensive, too familiar to be provocative. | |
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| re: Having seen this yesterday... | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 01:14 pm EST 01/07/18 | |
| In reply to: Having seen this yesterday... - AC126748 01:03 pm EST 01/07/18 | |
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| Yes, thank you. But I'm dismayed almost daily by how banal our theater is these days, and how much it moves audiences nonetheless. People on this board bemoan Disney, but I'm more upset by the work explicitly aimed at adults that don't really engage us in any meaningful way. |
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| re: MANKIND at playwrights horizons | |
| Posted by: summertheater 12:42 pm EST 01/07/18 | |
| In reply to: MANKIND at playwrights horizons - jd738 11:35 am EST 01/07/18 | |
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| After the large amount of highly negative reviews on Show-Score, it'll be interesting to read the professional reviews tomorrow night for this epic misfire. I loved Threepenny Opera at Roundabout with Cyndi Lauper and trust me, this ain't no Threepenny Opera. Any juvenile high school kid who hates religion can write a play about tossing a Baby Jesus through the audience. And can keep repeating scenes & keep repeating himself since he has nothing to say. Nothing brave or bold about that. An adult would realize there are places to go (such as Dignity on Waverly Place) for a gay Catholic mass. | |
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| re: MANKIND at playwrights horizons | |
| Last Edit: singleticket 01:28 pm EST 01/07/18 | |
| Posted by: singleticket 01:17 pm EST 01/07/18 | |
| In reply to: re: MANKIND at playwrights horizons - summertheater 12:42 pm EST 01/07/18 | |
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| An adult would realize there are places to go (such as Dignity on Waverly Place) for a gay Catholic mass. But so few places to go for a good old Satanic mass. |
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| re: MANKIND at playwrights horizons | |
| Posted by: Chazwaza 12:56 pm EST 01/07/18 | |
| In reply to: re: MANKIND at playwrights horizons - summertheater 12:42 pm EST 01/07/18 | |
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| That's interesting to me because SO many people hated or disliked or dismissed that Threepenny Opera... | |
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| re: MANKIND at playwrights horizons | |
| Last Edit: Ann 12:46 pm EST 01/07/18 | |
| Posted by: Ann 12:45 pm EST 01/07/18 | |
| In reply to: re: MANKIND at playwrights horizons - summertheater 12:42 pm EST 01/07/18 | |
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| From what I see, the member reviews on Show-Score are rated 58% positive, 25% mixed, and 17% negative. | |
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| re: MANKIND at playwrights horizons | |
| Posted by: summertheater 12:51 pm EST 01/07/18 | |
| In reply to: re: MANKIND at playwrights horizons - Ann 12:45 pm EST 01/07/18 | |
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| The weighted average score is currently 66 on Show-Score, which is very low, considering the large number of reviews already posted. As a point of comparison, Hamilton has a superb 97 on Show-Score. | |
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| Kudos | |
| Posted by: MockingbirdGirl 01:18 pm EST 01/07/18 | |
| In reply to: re: MANKIND at playwrights horizons - summertheater 12:51 pm EST 01/07/18 | |
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| The fastest route to a collective ATC eyeroll is sneering, "It's no Hamilton"! :D | |
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| Do you honestly consider that a valid comparison or compelling arguement | |
| Last Edit: dramedy 01:09 pm EST 01/07/18 | |
| Posted by: dramedy 01:07 pm EST 01/07/18 | |
| In reply to: re: MANKIND at playwrights horizons - summertheater 12:51 pm EST 01/07/18 | |
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| To compare an off broadway play to the hotest broadway musical in the last decade? A more valid comparison is brigh colors and afterglow are in the high 70s and wolves and shadowland is in low 80s. Or perfect crime in mid 40s. Those are all off broadway plays that have some history of discussion on this board. So high 60s doesnt look that bad in comparison, but of course these alternate facts dont support your position that this is the worst play witten in decades. |
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| re: Do you honestly consider that a valid comparison or compelling arguement | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 01:22 pm EST 01/07/18 | |
| In reply to: Do you honestly consider that a valid comparison or compelling arguement - dramedy 01:07 pm EST 01/07/18 | |
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| But also - Mankind can be a bad show and be getting poor response from the audience, and summertheater can still be wrong about why that is. "Mankind" isn't very good (and contrary to the poster who called it Brechtian, I don't think Playwrights is terribly brave to do it), but that's because it fails at the level of storytelling (though I would say it's much more narratively coherent than "Threepenny"). Summetheater is right about that, at least, if nothing else... and when we get into claims of right or wrong, yes everyone has their own opinion, but summertheater has frequently declared O'Hara's intent as a writer, without offering any prooof. Meanwhile, we all know that O'Hara's work deeply upsets summertheater, suggesting to me that this isn't about "Mankind" at all. |
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| re: MANKIND at playwrights horizons | |
| Posted by: whereismikeyfl 01:01 pm EST 01/07/18 | |
| In reply to: re: MANKIND at playwrights horizons - summertheater 12:51 pm EST 01/07/18 | |
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| So Mankind"s score is less than the most commercially successful Broadway production of the last decade? | |
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| re: MANKIND at playwrights horizons | |
| Posted by: ryhog 01:00 pm EST 01/07/18 | |
| In reply to: re: MANKIND at playwrights horizons - summertheater 12:51 pm EST 01/07/18 | |
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| and Brecht, had he lived in the age of show-score, would have been very disappointed by a score as high as 50. You see, that raw nerve that's been exposed for you is the aspiration. On behalf of Mr. O'Hara, thank you for relentlessly reminding everyone the wound has lingered. :-) | |
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| re: MANKIND at playwrights horizons | |
| Posted by: Ann 12:59 pm EST 01/07/18 | |
| In reply to: re: MANKIND at playwrights horizons - summertheater 12:51 pm EST 01/07/18 | |
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| I do agree it's not getting the ratings of Hamilton. But it's just below "Bulldozer." | |
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